There was no surprise in the end. Cristiano Ronaldo won his third Ballon d'Or, beating Messi and Neuer in second and third place respectively, in the voting of the captains, coaches and journalists.
There was no surprise in the end. Cristiano Ronaldo won his third Ballon d'Or, beating Messi and Neuer in second and third place respectively, in the voting of the captains, coaches and journalists.
The Real Madrid player, long time odds-on favourite, confirmed the predictions and celebrated with a shade less emotion than last year, when he couldn’t contain his tears. He received the trophy from ex-Barcelona player Thierry Henry, who has now retired after his last spell in football at the New York Red Bulls.
“It’s been an unforgettable year for me personally and it’s a unique thing to win an award like this. It motivates me to win more titles for the team and individually. I dedicate this to my family, to my mother, to my brothers and sisters, to my father, who is up there. It’s also for all the Portuguese. I never thought I’d win three Ballon d’Or, but I’m not stopping here. I want to catch Messi”, he said.
Ronaldo said it had been a “marvellous” year and that the best moment had been “winning the Champions League”. He dedicated the trophy to the fans of Real Madrid.
Ronaldo previously won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, as a Manchester United player, and in 2014 while at Real Madrid, despite not winning a trophy that year.